Silent Chicago
by eccyclema
Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit Chicago in 1950, but things turn ominous as the city becomes quiet. Near-canonical story set between "Tooth and Claw" and "School Reunion".
1. Waging War

_**(A/N) I started this during a class intro and I've finally gotten it to a point where I don't completely hate it. I'll probably update soon, since I won't have much homework…**_

* * *

The air in the alleyway filled with a non-terrestrial whirring, and slowly a small blue box appeared. A man with unruly brown hair and ancient eyes poked his head out, and then smiled.

"See! Here we are, just as I said," the Doctor called back into his ship, grinning wildly. He stepped from TARDIS, his blonde companion following behind. "Chicago, the Windy City… Hometown of Jack Ruby, Oprah Winfrey, and the namesake of an excellent musical!"

"Hafta admit, I'd thought it would smell better," Rose pulled a face, as she smoothed out her knee-length dress.

"Remind me never to take you to pre-Revolutionary France," the Doctor smiled, offering her his arm. "Miss Tyler, may I have the honour?"

Rose smiled and rolled her eyes. "Of course you can, you daft alien."

They navigated their way out of the alley and onto East Grand Ave.

~DW~

High above in space, a Quaaluze strategyship drifted warily, watching over the infantile planet below. And in this ship, a valiant warrior looks out a viewport.

"Soon we shall strike," said a harsh, whisper of a voice, "and humankind will fall on its knees before the Quaaluze. Prepare the warheads"

"But Haggrath," another voice chimed in, and it was as equally as hideous as the first. "The time is not yet right! We must await her order!"

"She is too patient," he snarled. "Every day, they breed and learn and advance. Soon they will have a glimmer of hope as to defeating us!"

"Surely you do not think those _humagka_ could ever destroy us, no matter how much they advance?"

"Fine, we wait for her command!" Haggrath turned, and walked over to a balcony. He extended a clawed hand over his chest. "FOR QUAAL AND THE QUAALISSENA!"

"MAY SHATO FOREVER RIDE!" thousands of voices replied from below. Thousands of soldiers prepared to die.

_And may he pity your souls_, Haggrath thought, turning back to the port. _I can feel a storm approaching…_

~DW~_  
_

"So why, 'o great and mighty Oncoming Storm', are we here?" Rose teasingly inquired.

"What, can't we just visit places for no reason?" the Doctor looked a bit shocked.

"No."

"Yeah, alright, you got me." He smiled at her, then turned back ahead. "The TARDIS picked up some sort of signal, and it brought us here. No idea why just yet, but give me time. I'll figure it out, I always do."

Rose chuckled, and then gasped as the Doctor stopped abruptly, nearly tripping her.

"Oi! Whaddya think yo-" she started, only to be cut off.

"Rose, what's wrong here?"

"You mean besides the fact I nearly fell flat on my face?"

"Rose, I'm serious, _look_."

"I don't know, Doctor, why don't you just…" She trailed off as it finally hit her.

They were smack-dab in the center of Chicago, but there wasn't one person in sight.

"Oh," she breathed, not sure of what to say.

"Yeah," he replied in a small voice, "big 'oh.'"

* * *

_**Dum dum dum! Where has the city gone? Hopefully the Doctor can save the day!**_

_**And no, I couldn't resist the Oncoming Storm pun, sorry to all those who went through phyical pain. **__**I'm not very funny...**_

_**Also, this is the dress I could see Rose wearing? Maybe not this color, per se, but...**_

_********__h-t-t-p-:-/-/-2-5-****__.-_m-e-d-i-a-**_.-_**t-u-m-b-l-r-.-c-o-m-/-t-u-m-b-l-r-_-m-7-t-l-m-r-p-C-e-C-1-q-c-d-d-v-l-o-1-_-5-0-0-**_.-_**j-p-g


	2. Milk, Lemons, and Sunlight

_**A/N**: I really super-duper **ultra MEGA** apologize for the wait! I've had this written for about a week, but I just couldn't bring myself to write it... Anyways, I've got the beginnings of the next chapter written already, so I'd say it'll be posted by Wednesday, at least!_

* * *

_**Chapter Two: Milk, Lemons, and Sunlight**_

* * *

The bell above the café's door tingled lightly as the Doctor rushed in, with Rose following suit a few moments later.

"Doctor… Where is everyone?"

"I don't know." His hollow brown eyes peered around the tidy shop.

"But that's…" She'd seen plenty of things- talking flaps of skin, Slitheens in Downing Street, a jabgrafest, cat nuns, werewolves- but an entire city just _gone_? Her mind refused to comprehend the horror she was facing. "They've got to be _somewhere_!"

"There is no one, anywhere, in this entire city, Rose!" He ran his hand through his already wild hair. "By the look of things, whatever caused these people to leave didn't stir a panic. I mean look! Poor bloke didn't even finish his tea."

He picked up a still-full tea cup and downed it.

"Made three weeks ago. To be precise," he licked his lips, "Three weeks, two days, twelve hours, and fifty-three minutes."

"Do y'know how disgusting that is?" Rose cried, scrunching her nose at him.

"Don't have to tell me! Honestly, who drinks tea with milk AND lemon?"

They took each other's hands as they made their way outside, and Rose could see he was right: there were no signs of panic. The cars that remained on the street still had their doors shut, and no shop windows had been broken. After the Slitheens had lied about aliens attacking Earth, she had heard about numerous stores and even houses that had been ransacked. Why, even her favorite chippery had been broken into during the chaos.

"Wait, Rose…" the Doctor stopped dead in his tracks, and Rose very nearly dislocated her shoulder from the force. "Can you hear that?"

"What, your brakes screeching?" she asked sarcastically, rubbing her sore shoulder.

"No, it sounds like-"

"…eeeeeyyyyyy!" A voice cried out, sounding extremely distant.

Both Rose and the Doctor spun around and saw a humanoid figure rushing towards them, quickly gaining ground. When the object came close enough to become distinguishable, Rose could not move from shock.

Never taking her eyes off the stranger, she whispered to her cohort. "Is that… Doctor, is that Jack?!"

Before he could answer her, however, the man reached the couple, and tackled Rose, knocking her to the ground and unconscious.

_~DW~  
_

Dark. That's all there was. The dark, and the cold.

A petite form sat on the freezing stone ground, her legs pulled up to her chest and knees tucked under her chin. She could hear the water inconsistently dripping throughout the endless maze of tunnels. They stretched for miles, shooting underneath the city like the roots of a tree.

She had wandered far enough that she could no longer hear the sounds from the campsite, nor any noises from any other sort of life as well. It was no strange task for her to roam away from the faction in search of a quiet place to think.

Living in the camp was challenging at best. No one dared to stray back to the surface, and for that reason, there was little food left for the hamlet. Soon they'd have no choice; they would have to retrieve more supplies.

Her stomach fluttered at the thought of sunlight, wind, and most especially food. It had been three weeks since she'd last felt the warmth of the sun on her dark skin, and already she had forgotten what shade of blue the sky turned at noon.

Gently, she rose and began to feel her way back down the tunnel.

* * *

_*Gasp!* I hope Rose is alright! She really ought to have moved, but I guess shock will do that to a person._

_Before I forget, I do have a few other_ DW_ stories as well: _Tell Her..._ and _Protecting Amy_. Also, if you head over to my Tumblr, you will find that I have an ongoing story with me as a companion (cue the annoyed groan- it started as a pick-me-up joke and kind of escalated from there, please don't hate me!) called _My Adventures with the Doctor_.  
_

_Anywho(vian), see ya in a few days!_


End file.
